, math, and social science, compared to those who didn't complete a core curriculum, those who completed the core curriculum scored 144 points higher than those who did not. when we look at those who took honors courses, they scored nearly 300 points above those who did not take honors or ap courses. rigor of the academic course load in high school leads to do better on the s.a.t. and leads students to being better prepared for college. let me give you this information in terms of framing the challenge of our country faces. for every 100 ninth graders, only 70 will graduate from high school. 44 local want to college. only 30 students will enroll in the second year of college. only 21 will graduate from a four-year institution in a six- year period of time. that is not good enough to keep the united states competitive in a global economy. we are very much focused on having high expectations for all students and doing what we can to better prepare students for college success and keep those high expectations for all students coming from all different communities and social economic backgro